Home sweet home.

After traveling for 4 days it feels good to be home. We were so anxious to be home that we left East Grand Forks Christmas night at around 9:00. We made good time and made it home before 2:00 the next morning. It was actually a good idea. The roads at that point were really nice and we didn't have any holiday traffic to deal with. And then we got to sleep in our own bed with our kitties.

The kitties have been very cuddly and affectionate since we got back. They are also more cuddly with each other than usual. I have to think that they fought the loneliness while we were gone by curling up together.

Oh, and they ate all of their food! I couldn't believe it. We left two very large bowls of food and they ate it all in 4 days. Luckily, we left the bag on the counter top and they sort of help themselves once their bowls were empty. There was a big cat-head-sized whole in the bag.

Yesterday we have them their Christmas toys. We got them a little catnip mouse that is refillable. "Grandma" Nancy got them the Omega Paw Whirly Mouse Jr. It's definitely a hit and when I left for work this morning they were going nuts with it.

Now that Christmas is over we are looking forward to finding a car. There are a bunch of big sales going on right now, so hopefully we will find something soon.

Oh, and for those of you who know Chris' paycheck didn't come last Thursday here's an update. It really did get lost or stolen. The company checked to see if anyone had fraudulently cashed it and no one had, so they canceled the check and issued Chris a new one today. And now he's set up with direct deposit. :)

Ready to Launch.

Since the time I began working at WheretoLive.com our number one customer and priority has been building a website for Century21 Canada. The company has been working on this project for approximately 18 months and it is our V4 platform. So if you included all of the learning and work that went into versions 1, 2, and 3 this product has been 7 years in the making.

Today is the day it will be launched for the public to view. The last couple of days have been long to say the least. I've literally only slept and worked since Monday. But it's all coming together and it's worth it.

Last night the 3 "top dogs" from Century21 Canada corporate came and we presented the site. The presentation went very well and our product is beautiful. We proudly boast that our product is the best real estate website in the world and I really believe that it is. I've worked so closely on the project for the last 8 months that I forget how spectacular it is. Then when it's compared right along side the competition it's amazing how great it is. When making analogies our boss compares this site to a Ferrari. (We have a lot of car people here.)

And then there was a party afterwards. We drank lots of wine and ate delicious appetizers made by "Mom". (Our Maternal Operations Manager who cooks lunch for us everyday.)

When I joined the team a great deal of the design work had already been done by the other designer here, Gabe. However, I've still been able to make a lot contributions and it's very exciting that this will be viewed by such a large audience. Basically, I was in a group of 5 key engineers, which consisted of 3 programmers and two designers. In addition to the technical work, there was endless discussion and problem solving to ensure that every detail of this product was thought through.

So today is a landmark for our company and probably within the hour they will be "flipping the switch" to make the new site live.

www.century21.ca

Everyone at work is definitely on a "high" with all of the excitement, but I'm just ready to go home. I haven't seen Chris at all for the last couple of days (he's already been asleep by the time I get home), but tonight we are going to take it easy and watch some "Heroes" and cuddle with some kitties. :)

The big two four.

▼ This was written last night.

Whew, what a day. White chicken chili...cards...flowers...a new video camera...a new episode of Heroes...Pene got her staples out...the kitties got bathes...watched this funny Charmin commercial with a pink and blue bear...searched Temerity Jane's blog for a funny post she wrote about that subject. Now I feel the urge to write on my own blog.

Tonight I'm at T.G.I. Friday's and I'm wondering in my head, "Should I mention it's my birthday? I mean, they certainly must have some sort of a reward. It's Katie Day darn it. I must be entitled to some sort of chocolate sunday or something right?" But in the end I chose to keep it on the dl. Who wants a plain old sunday anyways? It's Katie Day and I need some cheesecake or something else worthy of the occasion.

So I'm eating my dinner and I kid-you-not the girl in the booth next to us has a birthday sunday delivered. It was a massacre. Total public humiliation. They make her stand-up next to them and then the shouting, singing, hullabaloo starts. I was embarrassed for her and thanking God that I didn't order anything alcoholic which could have blown my cover.

So watch out for T.G.I. Friday's and their false promises of free birthday deserts. They make you earn it.

Pene got cwned.

Look at her lay there…all conked out after her hectic day. It’s not funny…but it sort of is.

I brought Penelope home from being spayed Wednesday evening. After getting home she immediately started picking at her stitches. So an hour later I realized that it wasn’t going to stop, so I had to rush back to the vet before they closed to pick up some “bitter orange” stuff to put on the incision. And it worked really great. All night she left it alone and cuddled and purred and all was well.

Then yesterday morning I wake up to find that she has managed to completely remove her stitches. And you can imagine it was very gross and I don’t deal well with those types of things. So luckily the vet opened in about 10 minutes, so I was able to rush her in.

(On a side note…it turns out that Pene hates the vet. She is the most loving affectionate kitten you could ever ask for and it’s because of her strong attachment to us that she pitches a fit at the vet’s office. I have never heard a cat hiss and growl like that. So it’s just pleasurable to take her there repeatedly.)

So the vet glued her shut and put more bitter orange on it. Now at this point the vet recommends that I keep an eye on her for a while to make sure that she leaves it alone.

And our morning/afternoon consists of:

She licks at it, I apply more bitter orange, she leaves it alone.

30 minutes later…

She licks at it, I apply more bitter orange, she leaves it alone.

30 minutes later…

She licks at it, I apply more bitter orange, she leaves it alone.

And by mid-afternoon her incision is half open again and we are headed back to the vet. This time the vet means business and so my poor, poor Pene got stapled/glued and a cone.

After getting back home she seemed just sort of defeated and slept for the rest of the day.

Happy Halloween.

In less than two hours I get to go pick up Pene from the vet. I dropped her off yesterday morning get a bunch of stuff done (spayed, distemper shot, rabies shot, microchipped).

So it was a lonely night without her. Our usual evening routine involves Chris, Pene, and I cuddling while we watch "Lost". I think by this morning even Dahlia was really upset that Pene is "missing".

Pene loves water, so last night it was strange to not hear her hurtle herself up onto the sink when I turn on the faucet.

Tonight I think Chris and I are going to dress up the kitties in their costumes, watch some scary movies, and hand out candy to trick n' treaters.

A little something new.

Last night Chris and I bought some new bedding. New sheets and blankets are one of my favorite things. Our last set was black and white, which we chose because it was a nice compromise for both of us. It was feminine, but something Chris could live with. However, now that the cold weather is here the black and white made our room feel colder than it is.

So I needed something warm and we chose this. Although it doesn't show it on their website everything in the set is on clearance for 55% off. So Chris spoiled me and got me some of the throw pillows too. Then instead of using brown as the accent color we found some burnt orange sheets. I love how it all looks put together. The kitties like it too. Dahlia sprawled out on the new bedding and hung out with us for a while, which is unusual for her.

Getting my blogging rear in gear.

Sorry it's been a ridiculously long time since I've blogged. I'd like to say a quick thank you to whoever voted on my hair poll. I guess I will remain blonde for a while.

Heroes.

So the verdict is in and "Heroes" is officially our new favorite show. After months of listening to co-workers rave about how good it is we decided to rent a disk and check it out (since then we have purchased the whole season and watch about 4 episodes a night). The show is based off the classic comic book superhero theme. It follows individuals as they discover that they are unique in some way...with some sort of superpower or whatnot. There is even a character who paints the future in a comic book style of artwork.

I will admit that some of the dialog comes off a bit cheesy and especially during the first few episodes it bothered me how blunt many of the characters were. Often confiding deep secrets in others with no small-talk or build-up. The show follows many story lines and so it seemed that they were trying to cram too much info into every scene.

Then in one episode Peter Petrelli drops this line, "I've been in love with you from the moment I laid eyes on you." Now I'm never a fan of this type of attitude, because clearly you can't really LOVE someone until you know them. I immediately went into annoyed mode. Then during my annoyedness, it dawned on me that this sort of ridiculous line is just straight out of the comics. And then it continued to dawned on me that this show is not poorly written, but that the blunt dialog itself follows the style of comics. Typically, comic writers have very limited time and space to write a detailed intricate story and thus must push important facts and events out at a staggering pace. The point is...I get it now. Or maybe I've looked too deeply and it's just low quality prime-time programing. Regardless, it helps me justify this new obsession. :)

Don't forget to catch the season premiere September 24th on NBC.

Super Magic Magic Ponies.

Monday night Chris went to his first league kick ball game and I tagged along to be his cheer leader. Chris' friend David Quamme invited us and Dave's brother Pete (and his wife Laurie) seem to be sort of in charge of the whole thing. Chris played like a superstar and caught quite a few balls for instant outs. It was funny though, because most of the people there haven't played since elementary school. The game was tied 0-0 most of the night, because it was difficult for anyone to score. Then during one horrible inning the other team scored 4 runs! And so our team lost 0-4. Other than being a little chilly (the game didn't even start until 9:00 in the evening) it was a great time. In preparation for next week I will be getting hot chocolate ready to serve (perhaps with a little peppermint schnapps to spike it with) and designing a large pink pony costume for Pete and Laurie's Saint Bernard, so he can be our mascot.

Cocktails for Creatives.

Last night Andi, Chris and I went to a social gathering hosted by the AIGA. For those who don't know, the AIGA is really the association you want to be involved with as a graphic designer. It's great for networking within the design community. They held it at Bellanotte's in downtown Minneapolis, which is a very swanky place. We had $5 martinis and some excellent pizza they provided.

We met the chapter president and other key members. I think all 3 of us are really excited to get involved in the activities they host (such as Design Camp) and possibly do some volunteer work. Most of the evening we spent talking to an interesting gentleman named Neil. He is a photographer. It's interesting to talk to people with different perspectives in our field.

The evening ended when it began to rain pour (we were seated outdoors) and we booked it down to Old Chicago to share some appetizers. A very nice evening and our feet are officially in the door of the design world. :)

The Beginning.

So blogs seem to be the new 'thing' to do. In the past I refused to buy into new trends like this, an example being that it took me a ridiculously long time to make a Facebook account. This was mainly because just to do something because everyone else does it has never been my style. I didn't want to be a follower. I have since then realized that typically there is a reason that things become so popular. New technology can help us communicate more efficiently. Especially now that I live far away from my old home I hope that this blog will provide family and friends with a little bit of insight to my life and all of my adventures.